COVID-19 is here and we’re going to have to adapt to this disruption in our personal and professional lives. This is an event unknown to any of us and a health crisis the US hasn’t experienced in more than 50 years.

The stay-at-home orders in numerous states promise to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, and self-quarantine has become a primary form of medical treatment moving forward, in order to protect vulnerable populations.

So what does that mean to you and your family? What should you do if you are exposed to someone who is infected with COVID-19? And what happens when it enters your already busy household?

These are questions top of mind for many, including those in New York, where incidence has spiked in recent days. And the answer is simple…if you’ve been exposed to someone or someone in your household has COVID-19, you should check yourself for symptoms and quarantine if necessary.

A small terminology clarification: quarantine is when you separate yourself in a home because you were exposed to a disease, are not yet sick but are waiting for symptoms and don’t want to infect other people if you are becoming sick. Isolation is when you already have the disease and are separating to prevent further spread while you recover at home.

When we think of quarantine, we think of a very drastic scene from the movies of hazmat suits, glass rooms with guards and alarms, but the reality is far less dramatic, but just as important.

From what we know about COVID-19, reports show that it’s not as deadly to the younger populations as originally feared, but the novel coronavirus does pose a very real danger to older populations and people who have other medical conditions like diabetes, heart disease, respiratory issues like COPD, and heart disease.

So let’s say you’ve been instructed to self-isolate, what does that look like?

Well that means you’re probably sick!

In others word, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is no longer recommending for most health care workers, or anyone not working in health care, to self-quarantine for potential exposure (either moderate to high-risk exposures with no symptoms). It’s for people that have symptoms and they’re sick and they’ve tested positive or presumed positive for COVID-19.

If this is you, take these steps to self-isolate.

When you get to your home or apartment, you want to have an action plan for your family or housemates. Figure out what room you’re going to spend the most time in. Start planning and setting up that room.

Having a bathroom nearby with a single point of entry and exit is ideal to limit your movement throughout the space. One way in and out means less area to contaminate, making it safer for everyone.

When living inside the designated “quarantine” room and all the doors are closed, you don’t have to wear a procedural mask. But you should always wear it outside that room.

Make sure to disinfect the handles of doors, toilets and faucets. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has registered more than 200 disinfectants to clean surfaces of COVID-19.

When doing so, let the cleaner air dry and sit on counters to really increase the time the chemical has to kill the virus. Lastly a regular procedural mask is all that is required to not spread COVID-19 in your home — NOT an N-95 mask.

Curbing cabin fever

You’re going to have a lot of individual time, so make sure you have items in the room to keep you informed and entertained. A computer or laptop with Internet access, a TV and books will help pass time. Make sure everything you need is in that space, or someone can bring it to you. You don’t want to be roaming the house for phone chargers and other miscellaneous items.

Ideally, you’d be taking care of yourself. You don’t want family members involved in cleaning up after you if they don’t have to — that puts them at risk.

If you live alone, you’re going be cleaning, disinfecting and cooking for yourself. Family members can bring prepared food for you and leave it outside of your door. Do not interact with them.

Make use of new methods of food delivery. Many restaurants have mobile app-based pay and delivery services to bring food to you and most food retailers deliver staple items as well.

Most important: If you do need care from another person, make sure the household member not someone medically fragile (someone with a history of diabetes, congestive heart failure, COPD) and isn’t at risk for taking care of you.

Your temporary caretaker should be the same person. This will also help minimize exposure to multiple people in your household.

Laundry (clothes and linens) is very simple. There’s really no restriction on laundry or whose it is. You don’t have to separate it from the normal family load. Just make sure you’re using an adequate amount of soap and water. Set the dryer to high-heat to disinfect. Load your dirty clothing and linens yourself, don’t have a family member do it.